1. Field of The Invention
This invention relates to cover assemblies for open bed vehicles, such as pick-up trucks and the like. More specifically, this invention relates to the field of telescoping covers or camper shells (sometimes referred to as "camper caps") for pick-up trucks and similar vehicles.
2. Prior Art
Pick-up trucks and open bed utility vehicles have achieved a sustained popularity. This is due to the fact that they can perform many of the same functions as an ordinary passenger car, yet are easily adapted to perform work and recreational functions. Particularly, they can carry heavy or large-sized loads that would not fit into an ordinary passenger car or station wagon.
As is well known through ordinary observance of vehicles on streets and highways, as well as from reading advertisements in newspapers and magazines and watching television, pick-up trucks typically comprise a cab section in which the driver and one or two passengers may be seated, with the engine disposed in front of the cab section. Behind the cab section is an open load bed section comprised of a flat rectangular bed surface having upstanding walls on each side and a door upstanding from the rear end, which door may be constructed to open downwards or to the side depending upon the design choice of the manufacturer. The load bed section is open at the top.
The pick-up truck is thus very easy to load, with access available over either of the side walls or directly onto the bed surface at the rear when the rear door is open. Since many pick-up trucks have a cab section With a rear window which may be opened, access may be had to the load bed through the rear of the pick-up truck's cab section.
Because the load bed is left open to the elements, items carried on the pick-up truck during bad weather may become spoiled or damaged as a result, and items left in the load bed may be observed and removed by thieves.
A simple solution to this problem is to cover the load bed with a tarpaulin or canvas extending from the rear of the cab section to the rear of the load bed along the top of the side walls and the rear door. However, tarpaulin or canvas is not as weatherproof as desired, is very easily susceptible to damage, may be easily overcome by thieves, and would substantially limit the height of the items that could be put in the load bed. The deficiencies of using a tarpaulin or canvas covering were attempted to be overcome by the addition of an enclosure or camper shell over the load bed section of the pick-up truck. Examples of such camper shells are shown in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 257,970 issued to Handwerk; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 232,628 issued to Douglas et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 2,848,274 issued to Geisler et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,736 issued to Baumer; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,201 issued to Collins et al.
A typical camper shell is made of aluminum, fiberglass, or other substantially rigid plastic material. It has vertical walls on either side engaging the side walls of the load bed section of the pick-up truck, a rear door spanning the rear edges of the shell's side walls, and a cover extending over the rear door and the side walls. The camper shell is typically disposed so that its side walls seal, at least temporarily, with the side walls of the load bed, and the front end of the camper shell seals with the back of the cab section of the pick-up truck. While a typical camper shell is designed to be removable, it is usually too bulky for one person to manage and requires a lot of room for storage. Also, while it is on the pick-up truck, it of course limits the height of the items which the pick-up truck may carry.
The problems suffered by the camper shells discussed above have been solved by the introduction of camper shells having sections which telescope into each other. A typical telescoping camper shell comprises a plurality of cover segments at least one of which is longitudinally movable relative to another. The movable segments comprise wheeled or sliding assemblies fitted in a pair of track assemblies disposed along the upper portions of the side walls of the load bed of the pick-up truck.
The advantages of using a telescoping camper cap are that the individual segments may be more easily handled by a single individual, the camper cap may be stored in a smaller space than the traditional single segment camper shells, and in many cases it eliminates the need for removal. In addition, with the telescoped segments in their extended position, such a camper cap provides all the advantages provided by the unitary camper shells; that is, providing weather and theft resistance over the entire length of the load bed. Further, the sections may be pushed into their retracted position and left on the load bed, and tall loads may be placed in the rear portion of the pick-up truck's load bed.
Examples of telescoping camper shells are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,165,352 issued to Hallock et al ; U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,523 issued to Lutgen; U.S. Pat. No. 3,640,565 issued to Anderson; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,886 issued to Gostomski.
The prior art telescoping camper caps, however, are not attractive, have track segments which are either difficult to manufacture or maintain, and are susceptible to binding due to introduction of dirt into the track assemblies; and are susceptible of having the exposed surfaces of the movable segments scratched or otherwise marred while being moved relative to each other and the stationary segment of the camper shell. The scratching is caused when dirt or other abrasive material gets lodged in the gasket or other sealing surface used for sealing the adjacent ends of telescoping cover sections. When one section is slid under the other, dirt trapped in the gasket will scratch the top surface of the sliding member.
Other prior art in the field includes U.S. Pat. No. 3,508,786 issued to Colville; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,470 issued to Trelle.